1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to patterned perpendicular magnetic recording media, such as disks for use in magnetic recording hard disk drives, and more particularly to patterned disks with chemically-ordered FePt or CoPt recording layers.
2. Description of the Related Art
Magnetic recording hard disk drives with patterned magnetic recording media have been proposed to increase data density. In conventional continuous magnetic recording media, the magnetic recording layer is a continuous layer over the entire surface of the disk. In patterned media, also called bit-patterned media (BPM), the magnetic recording layer on the disk is patterned into small isolated data islands arranged in concentric data tracks. While BPM disks may be longitudinal magnetic recording disks, wherein the magnetization directions are parallel to or in the plane of the recording layer, perpendicular magnetic recording disks, wherein the magnetization directions are perpendicular to or out-of-the-plane of the recording layer, will likely be the choice for BPM because of the increased data density potential of perpendicular media. To produce the magnetic isolation of the patterned data islands, the magnetic moment of the spaces between the islands are destroyed or substantially reduced to render these spaces essentially nonmagnetic. Alternatively, the media may be fabricated so that there is no magnetic material in the spaces between the islands.
Nanoimprint lithography (NIL) has been proposed to form the desired pattern of islands on BPM disks. NIL is based on deforming an imprint resist layer by a master template or mold having the desired nano-scale pattern. The master template is made by a high-resolution lithography tool, such as an electron-beam tool. The substrate to be patterned may be a disk blank formed of an etchable material, like quartz, glass or silicon, or a disk blank with the magnetic recording layer, and any required underlayers, formed on it as continuous layers. Then the substrate is spin-coated with the imprint resist, such as a thermoplastic polymer, like poly-methylmethacrylate (PMMA). The polymer is then heated above its glass transition temperature. At that temperature, the thermoplastic resist becomes viscous and the nano-scale pattern is reproduced on the imprint resist by imprinting from the template at a relatively high pressure. Once the polymer is cooled, the template is removed from the imprint resist leaving an inverse nano-scale pattern of recesses and spaces on the imprint resist. As an alternative to thermal curing of a thermoplastic polymer, a polymer curable by ultraviolet (UV) light, such as MonoMat available from Molecular Imprints, Inc., can be used as the imprint resist. The patterned imprint resist layer is then used as an etch mask to form the desired pattern of islands in the underlying substrate.
The islands in BPM need to be sufficiently small and of sufficient magnetic quality to support high bit areal densities (e.g., 500 Gb/in2 and beyond). For example, to achieve a bit areal density of 1 Tb/in2, the data islands will have diameters approximately 15 to 20 nm with the nonmagnetic spaces between the islands having widths of about 10 to 15 nm. It is thus important that as the size of the islands decreases, the thermal stability of the islands is maintained.
Another critical issue for the development of BPM is that the switching field distribution (SFD) (i.e., the island-to-island variation of the coercive field) needs to be narrow enough to insure exact addressability of individual islands without overwriting adjacent islands. Ideally the SFD width would be zero, meaning that all the bits would switch at the same write field strength. The SFD has many origins, such as variations in the size, shape and spacing of the patterned islands, the intrinsic magnetic anisotropy distribution of the magnetic material used, and dipolar interactions between adjacent islands. Additionally, it has been found that the SFD broadens (that is, the bit-to-bit variation in the coercive field increases) as the size of the magnetic islands is reduced, which limits the achievable bit areal density of BPM.
Chemically-ordered FePt and CoPt alloys with high anisotropy field (Hk) and perpendicular magnetic anisotropy have been proposed as the magnetic recording layer for BPM. Chemically-ordered alloys of FePt and CoPt ordered in L10 are known for their high magneto-crystalline anisotropy and magnetization, properties that are desirable for high-density magnetic recording materials. The chemically-ordered FePt alloy, in its bulk form, is known as a face-centered tetragonal (FCT) L10-ordered phase material (also called a CuAu material). The c-axis of the L10 phase is the easy axis of magnetization and is oriented perpendicular to the disk substrate. The FePt and CoPt alloys require high-temperature annealing to achieve the desired chemical ordering to the L10 phase. However, the annealing results in surface roughness which makes patterning of the FePt into the discrete islands difficult and results in a high value of SFD.
What is needed is a method for making a BPM disk with a chemically-ordered high-Hk FePt or CoPt alloy recording layer that does not result in surface roughness of the FePt or CoPt layer during the manufacturing process.